


Uno

by limey5



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: CW2020, Chenford Week 2020, F/M, Game Night, Nightmares suck, Unexpected Visitor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25297510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limey5/pseuds/limey5
Summary: He ran a light hand up and down her back, his fingers dancing along the faint bumps of her spine, trying to comfort them both with the repetitive motion. It had been a couple months since they’d discussed the dream in detail, but he could remember every terrifying detail.-or-Lucy has a nightmare and visits Tim at home.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 5
Kudos: 90
Collections: Chenford Week 2020





	Uno

It was the incessant barking that woke Tim up from a dead sleep. 

Well, kind of. He’d half noticed Kojo slide off the bed (he wouldn’t admit that he let the dog sleep in his bed even upon threat from some of LA’s worst gang members. He knew he’d never hear the end of it from Lopez.) and pad across the house to the front window. Plus, after years of sleeping in a tent outside of Kandahar, Tim was pretty sure that nobody ever slept 100% soundly again.

But the barking was the nail in the coffin.

Tim dragged himself out of bed, grumbling. He snagged a shirt and shrugged it on, on the off chance the dog actually was barking at something other than the wind. 

“Okay, okay.There’s nothing out there, boy. Stop barking at the skunks, would ya?”

Except it wasn’t nothing. Standing in his doorway was one Lucy Chen, a Dodgers keychain with one lone key on it dangling from her left index finger. Kojo had sidled up to her, his furry face pressed into her thigh and gazing up at her.

“Y’know, Boot, I gave you that for emergencies,” he said, gesturing toward the key in her hand.

A shrug accompanied her next statement, along with that sheepish look she always wore when she was trying to con him into something she knew he wouldn’t like doing. “If I explain it to you, you’ll understand why this was an emergency.” 

He firmed up his stance, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head just a bit to the right, silently challenging her to provide a damn good answer for why she was waking him up at - he uncrossed his arm to squint at his Garmin for the time - 1:30 AM.

Naturally, his motion didn’t escape the attention of, admittedly, his best rookie ever. “Oh my god.  
You’re such an old man. Do you want me to hold your watch over here so you can see it?”

Her ribbing had been unrelenting of late - he’d never let a Boot speak to him in the ways she did - but nothing about their relationship was similar to his other training experiences.

“Stop stalling. Why’re you darkening, not just my doorstep, but my living room after 1 AM? On a day off, no less.”

She got quiet then, something Tim would think was an act, behavior designed to woo him into her plan, if not for nearly a year of 8 hour plus days in a car with her, not to mention the terror of her kidnapping. No, something was wrong. 

“Would you believe I just missed Kojo?” She asked sheepishly. She reached down to scratch between the dog’s ears.

“I wouldn’t, and I don’t. Though, I’m pretty sure I’d call him a traitor, if he wasn’t so damn enamored with you." 

“I mean, do you blame him? I’m easy to love,” she shrugged.

“Yeah, you are.” She hadn’t meant anything by her off-handed comment, but his quiet reply drew her eyes to his immediately. Hers widened at the realization of his statement. 

“What happened?” He pushed her, hoping it might take weight off his words.

Lucy's whispered response was so low that Tim couldn’t hear her. He leaned his whole body in towards her, catching himself just before reaching a hand out in comfort. He shoved his hand into his sweatpant pocket and made a fist.

“Boot, you gotta let me know what you’re saying so I can help you.”

She rubbed her eyes with her fingertips, dragging her hands down so they covered her mouth. He could see her eyes welling up. He had an arm wrapped around her, just as tears started to spill down her face.

“I had the dream again,” she croaked out, turning her head and attempting to dry her eyes on the t-shirt that Tim hastily put on. He didn’t need to ask to know what dream she was talking about. Many hours in the car, combined with her luck of having psychologists as parents, meant they’d long since hashed out Lucy’s PTSD about the kidnapping, whether he wanted to or not. The old Tim wouldn’t have talked about feelings ever, but after nearly losing her, he pushed himself to find a new normal.

“Oh, Luce.” He ran a light hand up and down her back, his fingers dancing along the faint bumps of her spine, trying to comfort them both with the repetitive motion. It had been a couple months since they’d discussed the dream in detail, but he could remember every terrifying detail. In the dream, Caleb had tortured her, had violated her, mutilating her body so much that he’d carried her to the barrel. She hadn’t had the opportunity to drop her ring. Tim hadn’t been able to get to her in time.

Revisiting the dream, even secondhand, was traumatizing and Tim tried his hardest not to convey a physical reaction. The night she’d told him about the dream, he’d made her promise that she’d tell him the next time she had it, made a promise to her that he’d try to help. Since that night, she’d called him five times, her voice cracking over the phone as Tim tried to talk her back to sleep. This was the first time, well, the second, that she’d made reference to it in person.

Tim pressed a kiss to the top of her head - he’d really need to figure out what was going on, but for now, he just wanted to comfort his Boot. “I think I’ve got just the thing.” 

Lucy pulled her head away from his chest to look up at him. “Yeah?” she questioned.

“Yeah,” he affirmed, sliding his arm from around her, grasping her hand to pull her down the hallway. The jangle of Kojo’s collar confirmed he was following them.

Tim got Lucy seated on the family room couch, tucking a blanket around her and generally fussing too much for their relationship as teacher and student. He went about digging through the entertainment center. The dog curled up at his feet and looked up occasionally when Tim muttered a swear. He knew it was in here somewhere...

“What are you looking for?” 

He didn’t bother with a response. With a muttered, “A HA!”, Tim grasped the box between his thumb and forefinger, spinning to face Lucy with a triumphant grin.

“Uno? You want to play Uno?”

“Absolutely! Satisfies my competitive streak, you’ll be so terrible and bored that you’ll fall back asleep. It’s a win-win!” Tim’s bravado, all for show, had its intended effect - Lucy scoffed and grabbed the box from his hands. For now he’d successfully distracted her.

“Oh, let’s just see about that…”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posting to AOOO (though not my first Chenford). I'm not 100% happy with it, but I'm happy for the prompt/inspiration!


End file.
